This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-282066, filed Sep. 18, 2000, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus having an operation assistance function for an operator in a contrast medium echo technique or stress echo that is one transient diagnosis, and an operating sequence determining method of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In ultrasonic diagnosis, pulsation of a heart or movement of a fetus can be displayed in real time with simple operation in which an ultrasonic probe is applied to a body surface. In addition, because of its high safety, examination can be carried out repeatedly, and the system scale is smaller as compared with another diagnostic apparatus such as X-ray, CT or MRI, and examination can be easily carried out by moving the apparatus to a bed side. Although the scale of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus variously differs depending on types of functions that the apparatus comprises, a small sized ultrasonic apparatus that can be hand held by single hand has been developed. Ultrasonic diagnosis is free of being affected by x-ray exposure or the like. Thus, such ultrasonic apparatus can be used comparatively easily, and in the future, there is a possibility that a patient can operate the apparatus by oneself.
In recent years, a vein administration type ultrasonic contrast medium has been produced, and a contrast enhancement echo technique has been implemented. For example, in examination of heart, abdominal organs and the like, an ultrasonic contrast medium is administered via a vein, and a blood flow signal is enhanced for the purpose of evaluating dynamics of blood flow. In many of the contrast media, micro-bubbles become a reflection source, and a contrast enhancement effect is increased if its administration quantity/concentration is high. However, because of delicate material properties of air bubbles, it is found that such air bubbles are collapsed by ultrasonic irradiation, and a reduced time for contrast enhancement effect or the like can occur.
With respect to the contrast medium echo technique, there have been a number of researches concerning quantitative analysis technique for evaluating dynamics of blood flow as well. The most essential is so called measurement of Time Intensity Curve (TIC) for tracing a process in which an echo signal is enhanced in a region of interest after administration of a contrast medium, and graphically representing a change of its intensity with an elapse of time.
In addition, such quantitative analysis technique is applied to a stress echo technique as well. In this stress echo technique, a load is applied to the heart of a subject by administrating a medicine or exercising, thereby carrying out diagnosis or post-estimation of myocardial ischemia that could not been observed in a static state. In the case of a medicine load, the dosage of medicine is gradually increased, whereby the momentum of an exercise load, which is considered so as to avoid sudden induction of ischemia, is gradually increased for the similar reason. In such a case, the heart to which a load is applied is recovered to a static state with an elapse of time, thus making it necessary to acquire proper diagnosis data immediately after such load has been applied.
In order to carry out quantitative analysis concerning the above contract enhancement echo or stress echo, it is required to acquire data that is adaptive to elements of analysis. Ultrasonic diagnosis handles some tens of dynamic images for one second, thus requiring a large storage capacity when images of examination for about 30 minutes, for example, are recorded as digital data. In addition, even if it is possible to store a large capacity, data for use in analysis must be sampled from a large amount of recorded data, which is unavoidably cumbersome. Therefore, in actuality, there is employed a mode in which an examiner captures data required for analysis. For example, there is employed a mode in which there is recorded a dynamic image for some seconds in the vicinity where the inflow of the contrast medium into the region of interest reaches the maximum or a mode in which some typical images in the latter phase are acquired in a manner of snap pictures.
As has been described above, contrast enhancement echo or the like is a transient diagnosis including administration of medicine. Therefore, unlike a conventional examination, the region of interest cannot be observed for a long time until desired diagnosis image can be obtained. In addition, the number of administrations is generally limited to one or two. Thus, in order to carry out many analyses, it is ideal that data required for analyses of several types can be acquired at a first administration. However, in the conventional apparatus, it becomes cumbersome and difficult to execute two or more protocols for one administration.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing circumstance. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus capable of efficiently executing a plurality of diagnosis or analysis protocols in a contrast enhancement echo or the like that is transient and that requires time management, and an operating sequence determining method of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprises: a memory configured to storage a plurality of activities each of which is a function of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and is added thereto first information concerning a time executable by the function in ultrasonic diagnosis and second information concerning an object of the function; a selection device configured to select an activity from the plurality of activities; a protocol creating unit configured to create work procedure protocols for arranging functions, each of which configures the selected activity in executable order, based on at least one of the first information and second information, thereby defining work procedures in ultrasonic diagnosis; a controller configured to control of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus based on the created work procedure protocol; and a display device configured to display the work procedures defined by the work procedure protocol as symbols.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprises: a memory configured to storage a plurality of activities each of which is a function of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and is added thereto first information concerning a time executable by the function in ultrasonic diagnosis and second information concerning an object of the function; a selection device configured to select at least one activity from the plurality of activities; a determining unit configured to determine whether or not functions each configuring each of the selected activities are executable, based on at least one of the first information and second information; a protocol creating unit configured to create a work procedure protocol, the protocol defining work procedures in ultrasonic diagnosis, by arranging the functions in executable order, each of the functions configuring each of the selected activities, when the determining unit determines that the functions are executable; a controller configured to control of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus based on the created work procedure protocol; and a display device configured to display the work procedures defined by the work procedure protocol as symbols.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for transmitting/receiving ultrasonic waves to a subject to which a contrast medium is administered, and displaying an ultrasonic image based on the obtained ultrasonic echo, the apparatus comprises: a memory configured to storage plural types of processing protocols using a contrast medium; a selection unit configured to select a plurality of processing protocols from among the processing protocols; a scan sequence creating unit configured to create composite scan sequences obtained by combining a scan sequence that corresponds to another selected processing protocol with a scan sequence that corresponds to one selected processing protocol by the selection unit; a transmission/receiving unit configured to change sequentially ultrasonic wave transmission/receiving conditions, based on the composite scan sequences, thereby transmitting/receiving ultrasonic waves; and a generator configured to generate an ultrasonic wave image or a measurement value that corresponds to the respective processing protocols, based on the ultrasonic echo signal obtained by executing the composite scan sequences.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operating sequence determining method of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprises: a user selecting an activity from among a plurality of activities, each of which consists of a function of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein there are added first information concerning a time when the function is executable in ultrasonic diagnosis and second information concerning an object of the function; and arranging functions, each of which configures the selected activity, in executable order, based on at least one of the first information and second information, thereby creating an operating sequence of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operating sequence determining method of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprises: a user selecting at least one activity from among a plurality of activities, each of which consists of a function of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, wherein there are added first information concerning a time when the function is executable in ultrasonic diagnosis and second information concerning an object of the function; judging whether or not each function condition the each selected activity is executable based on at least one of the first information and second information; and in the case where the determining is that the each function is executable, arranging each function configuring the each selected activity in executable order, thereby creating an operating sequence of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operating sequence determining method of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprises: selecting a plurality of processing protocols from among plural types of processing protocols using a contrast medium; and creating composite operating sequences in which a scan sequence corresponding to another selected processing protocol is incorporated in an operating sequence corresponding to the selected processing protocol.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operating sequence determining method of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprises: selecting a plurality protocols from among plural types of processing protocols using a contrast medium; judging whether or not the selected plurality of processing protocols are executable as a series of operating sequences; and creating composite operating sequences in which sequences each corresponding to the each selected processing protocol are combined.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.